


I’d Trade All My Tomorrows for Just One Yesterday

by 0fflined



Category: The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Don't worry there'll be a happy ending, I promise, M/M, Set after the movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-22 13:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9609680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0fflined/pseuds/0fflined
Summary: Jazz is trying his best to adjust to life without Optimus Prime.





	1. Chapter 1

Jazz run his fingertips softly on the edges of Optimus' front windows on his chest. They lay on Optimus' berth, it was night and everyone expect those who were on night shift were sleeping. Optimus was on his back, arm wrapped around Jazz to keep him close. The right-hand man placed his hand on Optimus' chest, he could almost feel the pulse of the Matrix in Prime's husk. 

They lay there silently, they could go on like this for hours. Words weren't always needed, just being able to be like this was sometimes enough. From outside the room they could hear Warpath going on and on about the latest battle with the Decepticons, his night shift partner clearly wasn't interested. Jazz moved his head to get a better position, he snuggled lightly against Prime's neck. 

The Special Operations head moved his lips close to Optimus' audio receptors and whispered: "Do you mind if I play music?" Optimus moved his head so his was leaning against Jazz's. He tightened his hold around him a bit and answered: "I don't mind, as long as it's on low volumes. We don't want to wake up the whole Ark." Jazz smiled widely. He turned on his car radio and dropped the volumes so only he and Optimus would hear it. The leader offlined his optics and hummed softly. Having Jazz so close to him made him feel happy. 

"Don't get mad if I fall asleep, okay?" Optimus whispered tiredly, the smaller bot chuckling. He wrapped his own arm around Optimus' chest and answered: "I could never get mad at you. Just sleep if you are tired, you deserve it." Optimus was lucky to have Jazz, he couldn't get enough of him. Jazz was the light of his life. It was nice to feel loved by someone in the middle of everything that's going on. 

"I should recharge as well", Jazz added and offlined his optics as well. 

\--

Bumblebee stepped in Rodimus' office on Earth with Ultra Magnus. Rodimus was talking with Jazz, who was currently on Cybertron, taking care of preparations for a long-distance trip to space. They were finishing up the call.  
"Thank you, Jazz, I can always count on you", Rodimus spoke and lifted up his thumb.  
_"Don't mention it, Prime, just doin' my job!"_ Jazz answered with a bright smile on his face.

Bumblebee felt a bit sad to see Jazz, even though he was smiling and getting used to the new life situation. Bumblebee knew, the Ark crew knew, everyone knew how close Jazz and Optimus were. Bee recalled the moment when Jazz realised that Optimus was gone like it was yesterday, it was spark-aching. It was like the light from his optics had turned off. 

"We'll be departing to Cybertron soon. Call us if something important comes up", Rodimus continued and gestured with his hands a little.  
_"Will do, Optimus! Have a safe flight!"_

The video call ended and the window closed. Rodimus felt bad, he felt like he was betraying Jazz. Not because he happened to be him and not Optimus, but because Jazz clearly hadn't accepted the truth. Rodimus would do anything, absolutely anything in the world to bring Optimus back, but there was nothing he could do. He felt like everytime Jazz looked at him, he was letting him down. Rodimus sighed a little, Ultra Magnus stepped next to him.

"You can't let him keep doing that, Rodimus", he said sadly and the Prime nodded agreeing.  
"I know, Magnus, but how am I supposed to tell him that he shouldn't mistake my name with Optimus'? We all want him back, and I understand why it's taking Jazz so long to adjust. I- just can't break it up to him", Rodimus murmured and looked at Magnus.  
"I want to believe that by letting him call me Optimus could somehow help him."  
"I know what you mean, Rodimus, but... this is not helping him", Magnus continued and lifted his hands up as a gesture.  
"It's hurting him."

"Sir, let me talk to him", Bumblebee cut in and stepped next to the two much bigger bots. Magnus and Rodimus looked down at him as Bumblebee explained: "I've been friends with Jazz for as long as I can remember. We served together under Optimus for years. I will talk to him."  
"Thank you, Bumblebee", Ultra Magnus replied, Bumblebee smiled a bit sadly. Magnus faced the Prime and told him: "I will prepare Omega Supreme for departure. We'll leave in twenty minutes."

\--

"Rodimus is worried. We are all worried about you, Jazz..." Bumblebee started. He and Jazz were currently taking a break from work; they were playing Lobbing at the Iacon sports center. They weren't masters in the sport, but it was a nice game to pass the time. 

Jazz wasn't smiling and it made Bee sad. Jazz passed the ball to Bumblebee and replied: "I know y'are, Bee. I'm sorry."  
"You've got nothing to apologise for, Jazz", Bumblebee answered him after he had captured the ball in his arms. It was smaller than usual Lobbing balls, because the two Autobots happened to be a lot smaller than the bigger soldiers who preferred the game. 

"Yeah, I do. I keep addressin' our leader by the wrong name", Jazz murmured and clenched his hands into fists. Bumblebee hesitated on throwing the ball, but Jazz gave him a sign to do it. He threw the ball and Jazz continued: "I am not mad; I don't think that Rodimus is Optimus. It comes automatically..." Jazz lowered the ball down and turned his optics to the ground. Bumblebee huffed and came fast walking pace over to him. 

"... I keep thinking about the last thing I said to him. To everyone", Jazz said silently and faced Bumblebee, who wore a sad frown on his face.  
"I remember teasing Ratchet again about me and Optimus. He got always so irritated", Jazz continued and chuckled sadly, Bumblebee letting a soft smile on his face. He lifted his hand on Jazz's shoulder.  
"And Ironhide! Heh, he was his old, grumpy self. All of them... We had planned a lot of things that we should do. I was supposed to race with Prowl in the upcoming Grand Prix on Earth." 

"Bumblebee... I think I'll never fully recover from it", Jazz whispered and offlined his optics for a short moment. Bee nodded and patted his shoulder.  
"I know... I miss them terribly. Not a day goes by without me thinking about them", replied the yellow bug. 

\--

Rodimus was in his quarters, taking a break from all the leading-stuff. He was watching the city of Iacon from his wall sized window when a soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He turned towards the door, hailed; "Come in", and stayed waiting for his visitor by the window. The automatic doors wooshed open and Jazz stepped in. The doors closed after him.

"Jazz", Rodimus spoke as Jazz walked next to him.  
"Sir. I'm sorry to interrupt you on such late hours", Jazz replied, Rodimus gestured a stop with his hand and said: "No, it's okay. Don't worry. What brings you here, Jazz?" 

"How are you holding up...?"  
"I'm fine, sir", Jazz answered with a muffled tone. He didn't yet face Rodimus directly to his optics. Rodimus tilted his head on side, he noticed that Jazz had something heavy on his mind. He'd give him all the time he needed.  
"I... came to tell you that... I'm resigning from my duties. Sir." 

Rodimus got confused. He didn't want to lose Jazz.  
"Jazz, if this is about the whole name thing, I'm not mad at you", Rodimus said and gestured with his hands, but Jazz argued back: "No, sir, it's not. I've been thinkin' about things and... I have to do this."  
"You're an amazing lieutenant, and a soldier, I wouldn't want to let you go."  
"I'll keep my station here on Cybertron, but sir, I'd be very glad if you kept me out from everything else."

Rodimus frowned sadly and let his servos hang by his sides. Jazz finally faced him.  
"Please, Rodimus. I... haven't given myself enough time to grieve. I wouldn't be much of a soldier out there on field, fighting off Galvatron and his goons. Not in my current situation. Let me go." 

Rodimus sighed, Jazz was right. Losing Optimus was the worst thing to happen, he can only imagine how Jazz felt. Loving a Prime is risky, but then again, love itself is risky. Any bot could die, any moment. It could've been Jazz instead of Prime. It could've been anyone.

Rodimus lifted his hands on Jazz's shoulders. He leaned a little closer to be on his level, and said: "Jazz, I'm not forcing you to anything. You take your time, as long as you need. Your job will be waiting for you when you're ready."  
"Thank you, Prime", Jazz replied, trying to force a smile but hardly managing it.

"The loss of Optimus and so many other Autobots bother me to this day. No one truly heals from such wounds, but it gets easier to handle", Rodimus explained. Wow, he impressed even himself. Jazz nodded and managed to tug up the right corner of his lips.  
"Yeah, I guess so", he replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Perceptor was looking for Jazz, and he was quite sure about where he'd find the specific bot. He arrived to the place, which both Jazz and Blaster preferred; a music studio. Well, actually it was Blaster's place, but it looked more like a music studio. Perceptor didn't need to knock; the door was open almost all the time.   
"Hello!" Perceptor called from the front door. The place had two floors, upstairs was the studio and downstairs was Blaster's quarters.

From the moment Perceptor opened the door he was able to hear loud music coming from upstairs. Bass was so strong in the music it basically pounded the whole place, echoing from the walls, the roof and the floors. Needless to be said nobody heard Perceptor come not to mention call out from the door. Perceptor chuckled to himself; this was the usual Blaster and Jazz. He let himself in and started going up the stairs. The closer Perceptor came to the room upstairs the louder the music became and the clearer one could actually _feel_ it. 

As Perceptor opened the studio door the music basically exploded all around. It was some sort of rock music straight from the Earth. He couldn't stop smiling, those two were great friends and seeing them so eager of something they loved made him happy. He did his best to get their attention by waving his hand and calling their names.  
"Could you turn the volume down a bit?" he tried, covering his audio receptors.

Neither of the bots seemed to notice Perceptor at first, Blaster was in the middle of showing Jazz some new dance moves he had picked up watching some humans music TV. Once the bot caught Perceptor from the corner of his optics he turned and waved back for him. He gave a thumbs up at Percy's request and smirked widely as usual. He gestured for Jazz who reached to turn the volume down from a huge and complicated looking table that resembled greatly a DJ control table humans used.   
"Hey, Percy, what's shakin'?" Blaster greeted the fellow bot.

"Other than this building, Blaster?" chuckled Perceptor and walked in the room. He came over to the computer Blaster and Jazz were around.   
"What are you doing?" he asked, even though that was not what he came here for. He had news for Jazz, but he intentionally wasted some time. He didn't want to just give out the surprise, it'd be kind of lame. And he really wanted to see Jazz's face when he hears the news.

Blaster smirked, settling his hands on his hips.   
"I was showin' off some great moves for Jazz 'ere", he announced and pointed at Jazz over his shoulder.   
"Ya should try it too, Perceptor. Y'know, lay down a bit time to time." He reached to playfully punch Perceptor on the chest.   
"Who, me? Oh no, I have two left feet", Perceptor chuckled and stroked the place where Blaster punched him. He continued: "I'd look ridiculous." Blaster didn't argue, however, he was certain he could teach Perceptor a few sweet moves. 

"What's up with ya, Perceptor? We 'eard 'bout the lab accident", asked Jazz. He was sprawled all over a ridiculously comfortable looking chair positioned before the computer. Perceptor turned to look at Jazz and tilted his head to side. He scratched the back of his neck and said: "Oh, yeah, uh, it was just a little setback. Nothing serious. The lab just needs to purify, that's all." _Just a little setback_ , the whole laboratory department was contaminated by some nasty poison that caused rash. It wasn't lethal or anything, but the rash is not nice.

Okay, maybe he should spill the beans.  
"Actually, Jazz, I came to look for you. Guess who got to come home early?" Perceptor asked and lifted his hands on his hips. He smiled widely at the music-loving bot. Jazz nodded at Perceptor's explanation, but as he continued, Jazz's whole being seemed to brighten up.   
"Optimus is back?" he asked as if to make sure that was what Perceptor wanted to tell him before he'd get too excited.   
"Yes, yes! He's back!" Perceptor answered him with a happy laughter. That face was worth seeing. 

Jazz gazed over to Blaster who smirked so suggestively his face could have as well read 'go bang already'. Jazz hopped down from the huge chair and moved over by Perceptor's side. He gestured to Blaster.   
"Come on, man, lets go to the docks!" He was already pacing down the stairs before Blaster could even budge.

Optimus had been away for only a few weeks, he was needed at a peace conference. Even if Optimus was back, alive and well and safe, Jazz hadn't still forgotten the two, long and dark years he had to endure without Optimus. Now, he treasured every smallest nanoklik with him. 

\--

At the docks the shuttle had already landed. Optimus Prime was explaining what had happened during the conference to Ultra Magnus, Kup and the two others who always followed him around, Blurr and Springer.  
"Had there not been a careless party, I'm pretty sure the fraud would've never been exposed", Optimus explained.   
"So now both sides are in peace again?" asked Springer, and Prime nodded and answered: "Not necessarily gladly, but in peace."   
"I'm just glad the Decepticons had no part in it", Kup put in.

"I'm sure glad everything went smoothly. It's rare especially considering the Decepticons could drop by any moment", Ultra Magnus commented thoughtfully. He couldn't help wondering what could possibly keep the Decepticons holding such low profile.   
He was brought back from his thoughts when the trio of small bots made it to the docks, lead by Jazz who seemed even more eager than usual. 

"Optimus, sir!" Jazz called from a little distance, his footsteps rumbling the surface of the docks as he ran to greet the leader. Kup and Springer moved from Jazz's way when he came running. He stopped right before Optimus, a bright smile covering his face as he looked up at the taller bot. Perceptor stopped a bit further, he wanted to give the two some space. He can recall exactly how hard those two, long years were to Jazz. The momentary return of Optimus wasn't helping the situation, but now he was back. For good, pray to the Primus.

"I'm glad to see you back, sir", Jazz said, trying to keep his cool. He even saluted the leader. Optimus felt his spark flatter when he heard Jazz call for him. He could hardly stay put himself; he would've wanted to run to meet him and grab him in his arms. He waited till Jazz came over and stopped right before him.   
"Jazz", he said softly. Prime pushed Jazz's hand down from his forehead, placed his own enormous hands on Jazz's cheeks and leaned down to place his forehead on the smaller bot's. He offlined his optics and concentrated fully on his mate. 

Kup felt a little awkward standing there and staring, so he cleared his throat and returned to his duties. Springer followed him and hailed for Blurr, who would have been very curious to stay and watch. But he turned on his heels and rushed after Springer and Kup as the two took their leave. Perceptor and Blaster moved next to Magnus during the depart of the three others.

Jazz couldn't stop smiling, the happiness his spark felt right now was impossible to define. He sighed as Optimus' hands came to his cheeks, his optics turning offline at the next contact. He reached both his hands on Optimus' arms. Right now all that existed was only him and the leader, he didn't care if someone stared. 

Optimus could stay like this for a long time. He couldn't get enough of Jazz, and every moment he spent with him he made sure Jazz felt loved and cared for. A second chance is a very rare miracle, and Optimus had promised himself he'd make the best of it.   
"I missed you", he whispered to Jazz silently.

"I missed you too, sir", came Jazz's soft whisper. He nuzzled Optimus' face affectionately. These days every day without Optimus was hard to get past. The time he had to spend knowing the leader was gone forever left deep scars in him. Scars he'd probably never forget. Optimus opened his battle mask from his face, it opened in the middle and the mask slipped under his helmet. He lifted Jazz's chin up softly to be able to place his lips on the other's. He didn't care if someone saw them, or stared, or judged. Jazz was the most precious thing in his life and he wanted everyone to know it. 

Jazz released the softest little sigh at the contact of their lips. His circuits were buzzing with happy jolts all over his body. He answered to the kiss, making it the sweetest one possible.


End file.
